With nine games left on the year, the Caps will have to find at least one win in their remaining four road games, likely along with winning all their five remaining road games.
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The Vancouver Whitecaps have been slow starters much of the season, even over the past two months when they’ve lost just twice.
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And on Saturday night against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., the Caps were loose defensively almost from the get go.
And their loose play led to them going down 3-0 early on the way to a 5-2 loss.
Winning on the road in Major League Soccer is difficult and it’s a solid statement on the Whitecaps’ efforts of late that they’ve only lost twice away from B.C. Place Stadium since the beginning of May, even if they’ve struggled to find a win.
But with nine games left on the year, they’ll have to find at least one win in their remaining four road games, likely along with winning all their five remaining home games.
Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini expressed his frustration post-game about how his team continues to struggle with their starts.
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“We need to be better,” he said, flatly. “We need to seriously think about how to tackle better at the start of the game. … I’m very sorry for our fans.”
Veteran striker Tosaint Ricketts, who scored the Whitecaps’ second goal, echoed his coach’s frustrations post-game.
“It’s frustrating, when you go behind early and you’re chasing the game in the first minutes,” he said.
An early chance for Kevin Cabral should have been a goal but Caps keeper Cody Cropper made an easy stop on the Galaxy forward’s header; Cabral was wide open at the back post but missed his header back across the goal after a nice cross by Samuel Grandsir.
A couple minutes later, it was a Cabral-Grandsir connection the other way that led to the opening goal. Jake Nerwinski — a curious choice to start over Tristan Blackmon — made a terrible clearance, spilling the ball to Cabral, who raced in the other way and then slid the ball over to Grandsir, who hammered it into the wide-open net.
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Cropper had no hope to make another spectacular save.
Four minutes later, Ranko Veselinovic was backtracking into the box, only for a cross to catch his outstretched hand. Referee Silviu Petrescu was initially unsighted on the play, but VAR caught it and once he saw the replay, there was no doubt it was a penalty.
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Chicharito went with the simple panenka on the PK and of course Cropper dove away.
And like that it was 2-0 and the game was just about over.
Victor Vazquez nailed the third goal from outside the area, catching Cropper’s near post, which has been a weak spot for the veteran this season.
Bounce back…for a moment
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Shambolic shouldn’t get tossed around willy-nilly.
But it was apt in describing how the Galaxy handled a long clearance up the very middle of the pitch by Cropper.
Not a single LA defender moved to take charge of the flying ball and instead it was left to bounce and for Ryan Gauld to sprint toward.
The crafty midfielder somehow even kept control of the ball after getting jostled by Galaxy right-back Julian Araujo and nutmegged Galaxy ‘keeper Jonathon Bond with a left-footed shot.
The tide was running against the Caps but stranger things have happened than a team suddenly pulling back a couple goals in a moment like that.
Didn’t happen though.
Instead, the Galaxy were right back on the attack and Gransir hammered a curling shot from the top of the box and around a diving Cropper to score his second of the game and make it 4-1.
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From good to bad
Cristian Dajome was missed last week vs. Houston, as he battled COVID-19.
He started the night on the bench … and ended the night on the bench after seeing two yellow cards in the second half.
It was a tough exit one of the Caps’ most vibrant players. He made an impact after coming on at half time, highlighted by a nice assist on the Whitecaps’ second goal, threading the ball into the six-yard box, where Ricketts nudged the ball over the line to give the Whitecaps a breath of hope.
Dajome’s first card was shown after he got mixed up in a fracas following Ricketts’ goal.
With the Caps down to 10 men, Efrain Alvarez scored in the 89th minute to make it 5-2.
By the numbers
2.9: The Caps’ keepers have been criticized this season but on this night, they didn’t get much help. The defenders in front of them were turnstiles and the Galaxy created plenty.
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66.1: Despite a solid overall 81 per cent pass success rate, the Caps completed just two-thirds of their passes in the attacking half. They didn’t have much ball in the Galaxy’s half and they weren’t sharp with it.
Scoreboard watching
Even with the Caps’ loss, the MLS Western Conference playoff remains tight.
LA’s win vaulted them into sixth place, three points up on the Caps with a game in hand.
Tied with LA on 33 points are Nashville and Portland, with the Timbers currently sitting outside the playoffs, having played two more games than LA and one more than Nashville.
Nashville plays on Sunday, as do Seattle, who sit ninth with 32 points.
The Colorado Rapids drew 1-1 at home vs. Columbus on Saturday, which puts them on 31 points.
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The Caps host Colorado on Wednesday. They also have a road game in Colorado next month.
Digging deep
With Lucas Cavallini suspended after picking up his eighth yellow card of the season last week vs. Houston and Brian White out for a second week running with a rib cage strain, Sartini turned to yet another newcomer to play as the team’s lone striker, in front of attacking midfielders Pedro Vite and Ryan Gauld.
The Caps signed FC Edmonton Easton Ongaro to a short-term deal ahead of kickoff and Sartini handed him the start. He told TSN the reason for his selection was about how Sartini set up him team as well as how the Galaxy play. Simon Becher, the WFC2 striker who scored on his debut last week and Ricketts, the veteran who did start last week, were options as well, but Ricketts is more of a late-game energy player and Becher is a poacher, looking for mistakes.
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Garro, who has scored the third-most goals in Canadian Premier League history, is considered a more dynamic finisher than either.
He had a quiet first half, though and was replaced by Ricketts to start the second half.
The Caps changed formation when Ricketts came on, and the veteran forward noted himself that it made a difference.
“As you’ve seen when we’re pressing higher up the field we’re doing better,” he said.
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